Every so often we are blessed with the occurrence of a cow having twins. Sounds like a great thing right? Two calves equals twice the cash; however, this can be hard on the cow, calf, and the farmer. When a cow has twins usually the cow isn't able to feed both calves so we will give it to another mom who recently lost her baby. The best way to get the new mother to take the baby is to skin her dead calf and place the hide on top of the calves back or you can sprinkle baby powder to try to neutralize the sent of the calf. But how does this happen you ask? Well, twins are either classified as fraternal or identical twins based on their origin. Fraternal twins originate from two separate fertilised ova (eggs) due to multiple ovulation by the cow; which results in two different calves. Identical twins are a result of a single fertilized egg (embryo) splitting during early embryonic development, making these twins genetically identical. Fraternal twins happen more often than identical. One of the biggest problems with fraternal twins is when they are different sexes. The problem is it is estimated that 95% of the heifers born twin to a bull are not fertile, being referred to as "freemartins". There are many factors affecting twining in a beef herd: breed, breed lines (cow family) and nutrition. Twin pregnancies are at a much greater risk of abortion and dystocia. Very often, one or both twins can have contracted tendons or other congenital anomalies. If the twin is left on it's mother usually 2 calves is only equivalent to 1.5 and often require so much extra from the mom that she requires extra care. 
As a purebred producer, I guess you could say, that female twins is a bonus if they are healthy and you can raise them right, but this is usually not the norm. As exciting as twins can be they are not necessarily a high point in a farmers year.
Hope you enjoyed my tid bit on twining! I'm off to brush up on some concepts for my Social Part A (written) diploma tomorrow. I'm hoping and praying the source for the paper will be economic. Wish me luck!
I never knew that females wouldn't be fertile if they are twined with a boy, that's actually pretty interesting!
ReplyDeleteYes, most people do not expect this. We just assume that since cattle anatomy is so similar to our own that things such as this would not happen.
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